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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29148492">Ten Things To Know</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/TAle_xistime/pseuds/TAle_xistime'>TAle_xistime</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Blacklist (US TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>A character study of sorts, F/M, Feelings, Fluff, Light Angst, Lizzington - Freeform, Made For Each Other, One Shot, Parallels, Pre-Relationship, adding some personality to them, in a funky format, lord knows they need it, they complement each other well, they just don't know it yet</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 12:07:40</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,098</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29148492</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/TAle_xistime/pseuds/TAle_xistime</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Ten things that are good to know about Raymond Reddington, and ten things that are good to know about Elizabeth Keen. </p>
<p>"He finds that he is even more productive at night than during the day. Having once overthrown Kiribati’s government and taken control of a good 60% of it’s finances while simultaneously making blueberry muffins (Dembe’s favorite) for breakfast at two in the morning while staying in Okinawa. When Dembe woke up the next morning, he knew better than to ask questions about why the fourth president of Kiribati was assassinated late last night and why Red’s empire had miraculously had a growth spurt. Instead opting to eat his blueberry muffin in peace."</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Elizabeth Keen/Raymond Reddington</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>29</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Ten Things To Know</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>A odd format, I hope it's not to weird. I made this because I think that they complement each other well, and that they were made for each other. They just don't know it yet.</p>
<p>Leave me lots of comments! They make my day so much better! </p>
<p>Disclaimer: I do not own The Blacklist or these characters and make no profit off of these stories.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Ten things to know about Raymond Reddington</p>
<p>1.  You probably couldn’t tell from his tough persona, but Raymond is a cuddler. Any woman he tries to build a relationship with will have to endure many casual touches and brushes. Red is an extremely tactile person. He will hold them whenever he gets the chance, and most especially at night. He likes to make sure he can feel them, and know that they are safe. To make sure she is protected. It comforts him in a way little else can. He will subconsciously hold her to his chest at night, letting her steady breathing calm all his fears and drive away his rather frequent nightmares. Hopefully she lets him. </p>
<p>2. Red almost is never able to settle down into comfortable clothes. He mainly stays in his dress shirts, and even when he is alone at his latest home he has a hard time allowing himself to relax into comfy clothes. He mainly wears cotton pajama pants and cotton long sleeved shirts. He is reluctant to wear anything less. He chalks this up to be due to the fact that he isn’t really comfortable in his own skin. He has many scars covering his landscape, some of them still rather painful. His entire body is marred, most especially his back. He really hates his back. It’s healed now, even if it sometimes twinges uncomfortably with the wrong movement. But the most uncomfortable thing about it isn’t the pain. Most of the women he’s been with haven’t asked about it, caring more about other things the moment that they run their hands up his shirtless back. Perhaps concluding that it isn’t a surprise that a notorious criminal would have some nasty scars and hurriedly returning back to what they were previously doing. They aren’t pretty to look at, but they have yet to really drive anyone away. But they still make him uncomfortable whenever he looks in the mirror. Really all his scars do. They are a stark reminder of just how far he has come from the loving father and husband that he used to be. He hasn’t recognized himself in years. Not really knowing what to do with the monster he sees in the mirror, he just covers himself up.  </p>
<p>3. Raymond Reddington is a hopeless romantic. He can be very passionate when it comes to relationships, and knows how to sweep a woman off of her feet. He loves giving her attention and finds himself feeling giddy when it comes to thoughts of being in a partnership with someone. He wants something real and tangible, not just the one night stands he has been having to use for years now. He wants all of a relationship's faults and imperfections, and damn himself for being so nausea inducingly cheesy. He should know better than to idealize by now. He is painfully aware of how ridiculous the notion is that he could ever find someone to settle down with. He knows it isn’t going to happen. He had it once, the perfect domesticity and the role as a loving father and husband. He misses it. He misses them too. More than anything else he lost when he was forced to go on the run for the rest of his natural life. He still has periodic nightmares detailing their deaths, and wonderful dreams detailing their old lives. Even after all these years he still can’t bring himself to think of himself as a widower, it's just too strange a thought to endure. </p>
<p>4. Red is a terrible sleeper. He has many nightmares that keep him awake, and even if the dreams don’t find him in his sleep he still is easily awoken by even the tiniest thing. He has to have blankets, not comforters, so he can easily add and peel off layers. He has to be one of the most high strung people on the planet, so even the tiniest sound will wake him and have him panicking. He takes ages to fall asleep, staying up late into the night staring at the ceiling and planning his next move for just about everything. Calculating the chances that someone will do this, that or the other. And then sometimes his brain will not shut off for no reason at all. Keeping him awake even when all he wants is to sleep. So he busies himself on nights like that, reading, listening to music, crosswords, jigsaw puzzles, baking while trying not to wake Dembe who surprisingly sleeps like a rock, and watching TV quietly. He finds that he is even more productive at night than during the day. Having once overthrown Kiribati’s government and taken control of a good 60% of it’s finances while simultaneously making blueberry muffins (Dembes favorite) for breakfast at two in the morning while staying in Okinawa. When Dembe woke up the next morning, he knew better than to ask questions about why the fourth president of Kiribati was assassinated late last night and why Red’s empire had miraculously had a growth spurt. Instead opting to eat his blueberry muffin in peace. </p>
<p>5. Red is rather critical of film and TV in general, not having all that much time for it. But one thing he absolutely loves, is game shows. If he wasn’t a wanted fugitive he probably would have tried to sign up to go on one by now. He will watch any game show you put in front of him, always trying his best to see if he would win the game. Using strategy, patterns and the game show hosts body language. And you would think, that a man that has survived so long based on guessing on trivial things and people's behavior would be rather good at winning a game show. You would think. But really Red is quite terrible at game shows and trivia. He over thinks everything terribly, always making things more complicated than needs be and missing the obvious answer. Dembe finds it all terribly amusing, and laughs hysterically at Red every Friday night when they watch game shows together. </p>
<p>6. Red finds extreme comfort in scent. There is just something about good smells that soothes him. And he supposes that is probably true with most people, but that doesn’t make it any less true with himself. Late at night when he finds himself over thinking or panicking, if he has someone he is in a relationship with next to him, he is able to calm himself down by kissing the top of her head and lightly smelling her shampoo. It’s just a small little quirk of his, something a little odd he does, but it can usually put him right to sleep. Though, he hasn’t had a woman's heat there to comfort him in quite a long time. He can’t find himself being able to look at any women lately. Not when he only has one on his mind. </p>
<p>7. Red may be terrible at game shows, but he has a certain skill when it comes to jigsaw puzzles. He and Dembe get new ones constantly, finding it to be one of the things they both enjoy doing. There is almost constantly a jigsaw puzzle open on the table in their latest safehouse, something to decompress and do sporadically whenever there is time.  With Dembe or someone else's help he usually can assemble them rather quickly, even when he really has no time. </p>
<p>8. Red loves cooking. He is pretty decent, he would like to think, and Dembe always tries out his latest creation or attempt at a new recipe. Dembe has never been big on breakfast, but Red always gets up before Dembe to make something and make sure that he eats at the very least a piece of toast with some eggs. Dembe has learned not to argue with Red on the importance of having a good breakfast. He never wins. Red always makes sure that everyone has eaten something before going about his day.</p>
<p>9. Red loves vinyl records. Sure, it makes him seem old, which he begrudgingly concedes that he is past his prime, but there is just something about opening up a new record and placing it on the turntable. It's a different experience entirely. Of course he has his jazz records, but he also has others. Raymond Reddington has some classic rock records he keeps stowed away. Which is only something that Dembe is aware of. And he intends to keep it that way. He has a vast collection, Aerosmith, Journey, The Eagles, Bon Jovi, Foreigner, Chicago, Pat Benatar and even some Def Leppard and AC/DC. And IF he DID have a Metallica record, it most certainly would NOT be Metallica the album. Absolutely not. He does prefer softer rock, but he must admit that there are some good songs amongst the hard rock genre as well. He mostly just listens to his jazz however, the older songs that he grew up listening to always proving to remind him of who he used to be. It can be painful sometimes, especially when there is a song that makes him remember a specific moment in his past life. Like listening to Escape the album while baking in the kitchen with his wife and daughter. Don’t Stop Believin’ playing in the background while he sprinkled flour in his wife's hair, and the subsequent flour war that followed. Then followed by the rather vivid memory of the shower he and his wife shared a few minutes after putting his daughter to bed, to wash, and in some cases lick, the flour off of one another. Yes, the music can be painful. But he still loves the songs. As agonizing as the reminder of who he used to be, and what changed him to become the monster he now is, he just can’t let go. The music of his past, of his happy life, is the only connection he has to his dead family. So, he still takes the time on occasion to listen to his hidden classic rock records.</p>
<p>10. Raymond Reddington has a secret. He already knows exactly who is going to be the death of him. Inadvertently or not. Because he is in love with an FBI agent. And he doesn’t exactly know what to do with his rather bad case of unrequited love. Not that he would give anything to stop loving his Lizzie. He only hopes that she doesn’t feel the same way. It’s better like this, for his adoration to go unrequited. The farther away he can keep her from him the better he can protect her from him and everything he brings to those he fatally loves. He has to keep her safe. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Ten things to know about Elizabeth Keen</p>
<p>1. Liz is constantly cold. It’s like she needs a personal heater on her at all times, something to envelope her in warmth whenever she needs. Which is more often than not. She always gets particularly cold at night, so she likes to layer tons of blankets on top of her bed. When she was still with Tom, she used to try and coax him into warming her freezing feet and hands up, but he always got too hot laying right next to her after too long. So now she just plugs in a heating pad to tuck under her blankets on her bed. It works well enough, though she will admit that one of the things she hates most about being single is never being held. She misses that from having a relationship. Misses being touched. Though she would rather be surrounded by hot garbage than be held by Jacob’s manipulative ass again.</p>
<p>2. From an early age, Liz has always found that whenever she is panicking she can calm herself down by running her fingers back and forth over her scarred wrist. Something about feeling the rough texture and the intricacies of her long healed skin just brings her back to the present, grounds her. Makes her be able to relax. She isn’t scared or ashamed of the marred skin any longer, not really caring about what she used to think of as a hideous scar. People have asked about it, and she usually just smiles and says it was a burn she got when she was younger. Not caring to explain any further than that. </p>
<p>3. Liz loves to read romance novels. After her complete wreck of a marriage, she has found herself imagining what it will be like if she finds him, the man she hopes she will spend the rest of her life with. If he even exists. Tom was always amazingly romantic, and knew just what to say. It was all just sterile though, now that she thinks back on it. She was too caught up in the idea of her fantasy, and how perfect Tom seemed. He acted like one would in a cheesy Hallmark movie. Plastic, rehearsed, ingenuine. Lacking passion and dedication. Sure it was a nice thought, all those little things he said and did, picnics in the park and the stereotypical movie romance. But it wasn’t real. None of that marriage was. She wants something real now, something substantial. A relationship with passion, where both parties are working to make things better. She wants real love. Not the fake thing she had with Tom. She just hopes it’s not too late to find it. </p>
<p>4. Liz has a bad habit of getting up late at night. She has a hard time sleeping, not for any particular reason, perhaps just because she’s just restless. So she watches TV, works on the latest case, or just lays in bed listening to music. She should probably go see a doctor for insomnia, considering she fits that bill to the T. But she doesn’t really like going to the doctor and surmises that she must just be a night-owl. Even if she knows she is just lying to herself to avoid going to the hospital.</p>
<p>5. Liz’s favorite TV shows to watch other than Doctor Who with Aram, are game shows. She used to watch them with Sam, and she has always dreamed of being a contestant on a game show. She thinks she could do very well. She is usually pretty well versed in trivia, and when she's alone in her house and watching the game show network, she finds that she does as good as most of the contestants, if not better. The challenge is the main part of it for her, she finds game shows to be a good way to sharpen her mind while simultaneously entertaining her. </p>
<p>6.  Liz loves trying out different good smelling things around the house, like candles, soap, shampoo, perfume, and deodorant. She can never seem to settle on one, so she rotates them. She has always thought she should get a second opinion on which ones to keep. Considering she has literal hoards of good smelling products. But at the same time, she really isn’t close enough to any people to ask them over to help her decide which of her candles to throw out. She knows that she should stay far away from Bath and Body Works, but it’s really the only store she ever splurges and gets something just for the pure joy of finding something for her to enjoy. Clothes shopping is tediously boring, she has all the furniture she could need, and plenty of books left on her shelves that she keeps telling herself that one day she will get to. One day surely. So whenever she gets coupons in the mail, she goes and gets herself something nice smelling that will bring a little personality into her rather bland apartment, and destress her at the same time. </p>
<p>7. Liz loves puzzles. But she is absolutely terrible at them. She always loses the pieces or gets frustrated and quits whenever she tries to do one on her own. She has considered asking for help, but it seems rather silly to call someone over just to help her finish a jigsaw puzzle she has had sitting on her counter for two weeks. She can’t seem to find the patience for them, only ever getting into one when she can relatively easily piece together the picture. It’s enjoyable, just as long as she doesn’t get stuck. That’s when she quits and goes to try and do something else, the puzzle causing her more frustration than fun. </p>
<p>8.  Liz never eats breakfast. She just has never liked breakfast foods, and rarely finds the time. So she just skips it. Sure it's not the greatest for her body, but it’s not like she has the time anymore to attempt to cook something she would consider trying to eat before leaving for the Post Office. Not that she is a good cook anyway. She is absolutely terrible at preparing meals, and burns or over-seasons everything. She attempted making ravioli once, and the water over boiled. Leaving a humongous mess and the almost ruined oven’s burner to pay the price for Liz foolishly thinking she could ever learn to feed herself without take out, and prepackaged meals. So she skips breakfast, and opts instead for restaurant prepared food. </p>
<p>9. Liz loves 80’s ballads. She has an entire playlist of them on her phone, and several CD’s. Sometimes when she cleans her house she will put them on her speaker, and play them as loud as she can. Hoarsely singing along as she mops. She knows every word by heart, and hearing them makes her feel warm inside. Some of the songs remind her of Sam, and some remind her of other things. Like her first kiss or learning to drive her first truck. And dumping the clutch every single time. So she smiles and sings along, and happily reminisces on her younger years. Missing the simplicity of adolescence. Then cringing at herself for somehow becoming so horribly poetic. If that fact doesn’t speak volumes as to her age, well then, she doesn’t know what does. </p>
<p>10. Elizabeth Keen is in trouble. Because she is attracted to the entirely wrong man for her. What makes him such a bad choice you may ask? Well for starters, he’s on the FBI’s most wanted list. As he has occasionally bragged, number one with a bullet. And considering she is his handler, well, things could get rather sticky. The irony doesn’t escape her either that she is FBI and Raymond Reddington is most definitely her most wanted. In more ways than one.</p>
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